Fleetwood Mac "Say You Will
Reprise Records
STEVIE NICKS
LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM
MICK FLEETWOOD
JOHN McVlE
There are many marks of musical success, a familiar litany of units sold, seats filled and charts topped.
But there is another measure more meaningful still: the simple love of the art of the song that overcomes all personal and professional travails, transcending trends and standing the test of time.
It's evident in the unalloyed joy that comes from creative collaboration, a commitment to a lifelong partnership that is greater than the sum of its individual parts. It's the mercurial magic of real rock 'n roll.
It's FLEETWOOD MAC.
With Say You Will (out April 15, 2003 on Reprise), the glorious new album from one of the most original and enduring bands in the history of popular music, Fleetwood Mac reinvents the interactive chemistry that has sustained a genuinely legendary career.
Beyond the multi platinum stats, the tour grosses and the trappings of pop stardom, this storied aggregate of strong wills, potent talents and tangled histories has sustained a common musical bond since the group originally formed in 1967, fashioning, in the process, an unequalled body of work. That, by any measure, is a sterling standard of success.
So, too, are 18 astonishing tracks that comprise the generous tune stack of Say You Will. But behind the exquisite songwriting, the dazzling craftsmanship and the inspired performances and productions that are all part of the band's writ-large signature, Say You Will tells a story of near-heroic determination, patience and fortitude, a creative saga that makes this music even more meaningful.
"I'd been working on a solo album for a long time," explains Lindsey Buckingham on the genesis of Say You Will. Busy in his home studio well before his involvement in
The Dance, the group's acclaimed 1997 in-concert reunion album, Lindsey goes on to recount how he recruited both Mick Fleetwood and John McVie to provide a rock solid rhythm section on selected tracks from his solo work in progress.
"It was a real catharsis," he reveals. "We really hadn't been in the studio since Tanao In The Niqht in 1987 and getting together again, working on new material, really reaffirmed our fighting spirit. We had a quasi-intervention and then got down to work."
"We were originally going to get together for a few weeks," recounts John McVie. "It turned into a year. The fact was, we were enjoying ourselves tremendously. I wouldn't say it was exactly like old times. It was better. We'd all let a lot of things go and were free to concentrate on the music."
It was this unspoken agenda that eventually presented itself to the remaining members of the group. While Christine McVie opted out of continued involvement, Stevie Nicks, the voice and songwriter behind some of the band's most memorable hits, answered the siren's call.
"It was just before I started touring for my solo album Trouble In Shangri-La," Stevie relates.
"I knew the guys were working together, although at that time none of us had any idea how it would turn out. Lindsey asked me if I had any material Iying around, so I gave him a collection of 17 demos I had done, stretching from 1976 all the way up to some songs that didn't make it onto Shanari-La."
"Once we got Stevie's songs, the recording took on a life of its own," remarks Lindsey.
"Without anybody really saying as much, we knew we were doing the next Fleetwood Mac album. It was a very organic process. John and Mick and I spent the next six months working on Stevie's material while she was on tour and when she got back we presented her with the results."
"I'm very attached to my demos," says Stevie. "My philosophy is that you've got to beat the original if you want to use the song, which is exactly what Lindsey did. When I heard the tracks, I knew we were on to something serious. I immediately went back and started writing, one song a week for a month."
While, as Mick puts it, "Lindsey continued doing his alchemy in the studio," the group came to terms with the reality of the band's de facto rebirth. "When Christine made it clear she wasn't coming back, I knew I'd miss her, both as a friend and a collaborator," remarks Stevie. "But it's been my experience that change creates opportunities. Someone leaves and suddenly something great has a chance to happen."
Lindsey agrees. "From a musical point of view, it presents both a challenge and an opportunity. From the beginning the band had been about three strong songwriters.
Now, we had 33 percent more space to work in. There's something exhilarating in that."
More space or not, it was obvious that the band was now dealing with an array of musical talent. "We had the all the songs developed from my solo project," Lindsey explains, "and we'd cut ten new tracks by Stevie. We started thinking we had a double album on our hands."
"From the beginning we were all after something extraordinary," Mick picks up. "The last thing we wanted to do was tread water. With the abundance of material we had, we thought we might lose focus, and although painful, we managed to cull it down to 18 tracks."
Nearly seven years after Lindsey had begun work on what was to be a solo album, Say You Will was complete, and with it, the renewal of one of popular music's most influential and enduring bands.
"Creative tension never dies," remarks Stevie. "We've always had our differences and we always will. But through it all we managed to be smart about what matters.
This album is a tribute to four people making the right decisions."
"It's the result of a lot of self-examination, a steady focus and, most of all, the realization of what we give to each other as a band," Lindsey asserts.
"There is no reason why we should have had our shot and then just burnt out. We're all safe and happy these days. We're capable of enjoying ourselves."
"Somehow we've ahvays managed to stay in touch with the spirit of Fleetwood Mac," is how Mick puts it. "Let's face it. We're not all just saying hello to each other. We're connected very deeply. It's been a seamless journey, it's just the logistics that sometimes need working out."
The track of that seamless journey has brought the band to some of the most heartfelt and satisfying music of their long career.
Quintessential Stevie Nicks gems range from "Smile At You" and "Goodbye, Baby," both written in 1976, to her stunning quartet of new originals-- "Destiny Rules," "Silver Girl," the title track "Say You Will" and the shimmering "Illume."
The endlessly inventive musical imagination of Lindsey Buckingham is given its full scope on such breathtaking originals as "Murrow," "Miranda," "Red Rover," "Bleed To Love Her" and beyond.
And, beneath it all, is the steady pulse of rock & roll's premier rhythm section--Mssrs. Mick Fleetwood and John McVie.
For Fleetwood Mac, success has always been what they make it. On Sav You Will, they have made history.
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